Pokémon - Arana League
by Sef Aksise
Summary: Within the confines of the region of Arana, two boys battle in order to achieve their ambition - to enter the Arana league. However, not all is easy, and perhaps they should realise that it will take more than just nerves of steel to get past the challenges that await them.
1. Chapter 1

An ambient noise awoke him. Within the depths of the night the boy flipped forth, rolled over and landed on bunched knees, then sprung back up and made an attempt to reach the doorway, stumbling as he went. There was no indiction of the time, but judging by the sky's hue it was probably struck midnight. This did not aid him in his venture downstairs, for he found that he had to cling hard to the rails as he made his descent.

When the laminated flooring of the stairwell turned to that of carpet, it was safe to assume that he had hit the bottom. With a curiosity of a child, for which he was, he continued walking with the intents of finding out what the noise was. He took a right, and the room at the end was illuminated with a bright light. The boy was confused, but continued heading towards it anyway.

He stood in the doorway and gazed up. Before him was his father, staring down at him with a streamer in hand. When his father's face fell, the six year old began to question what he had done wrong, and began to ponder if the choice he had made was reversible.

'I guess it isn't much of a surprise now, is it Tek?' He said. Tek tilted his head before clasping his hands together in a carefree joy.

'This what I think it is?' He asked, a widespread smile forming on his lips.

'Yes. . . .'

He walked further into the room and sat upon a couch in the corner of the room, staring at the decorations that hung from the rooms ceiling. Something to his left came out the kitchen, something that interested him. He turned to find out that it was his mother, herself holding a three tier cake laced in both blue and white. When she saw him, she sighed and set the cake upon the table.

'See this isn't why you should make loud noises. You woke him.'

'Yes. . .' He turned towards Tek, 'perhaps you should go back to sleep?'

Tek glanced around the room until his eyes set upon a digital clock. He raised a finger and pointed at it. 'It says one. I was told that the new day starts when the clock hits zero.'

His mother and his father shared a few nervous looks before turning back to him.

'All right,' his mother said, 'I suppose we can celebrate your birthday now. . . .'

Tek threw his hands up in the air, hauled himself off of the seat and ran towards the kitchen. Looking up, he saw that a Marill had made its way atop the selves. When it saw him, its face illuminated and Tek outstretched his arms so that it could jump into them. It did so gladly.

He ran out of the room and began to twirl in happiness, Marill clinging to him tightly, eyes closed with cheer. His parents seemed to sweat drop and soon Tek came to a standstill, staring up at them when a question came to mind.

'What about the presents?' He asked, his voice innocent. The two once again stared at each other before smiling. His father walked towards him, grabbed a spherical object out of his pocket and knelt down. He then motioned for the boy to outstretch his arms, to which he complied, then placed it within his open palms, quickly clasping them around it.

Tek took a few moments to analyse its structure. Half of it red, half of it white. Along the crevice was a circle, then another. . . . Tek was pretty sure he had seen one of these before on TV. The thing Pokémon come out of.

Tek dropped it upon the floor, then jumped back when a red light flashed from it. From this light came a conical creature and, noticing the presence of humans around it, jumped behind the nearest object - a table leg.

He took a few moments to analyse this creature, for the table leg only covered a portion of it. When he realised that it was no threat, he felt mildly intrigued by it and knelt down to it. The Pokémon immediately skirted away, which made Tek's face fall and his mood become monotonous.

'Maybe it'll learn to like you soon. . . We caught it fairly recently, it's no wonder it's frightened.' Said his mother. Tek looked at her before looking back at the Pokémon's turbulent features. He pulled himself to his feet, then began walking back towards the doorway.

'Perhaps. . . I want to sleep now. Night.' He replied. Walking up the stairs began to prove difficult however, for the boy began to realise that his limbs had grown tired. However, he eventually made it. He took a right and pulled into his room, soon snapping his head around in an effort to find something.

Ah - there. There was that creature. However, as soon as he caught a glimpse of it it quickly hastened behind the doorway. Tek tilted his head, gave a sudden gasp of realisation and then began to chase after it. The Pokémon weaved and dodged all of Tek's attempts to catch it, and the boy seemed to tire himself more than he tired the Pokémon. He lunged after it again but the Pokémon was too swift, and he came crashing down upon the carpeted floor. He shot it a glare. Judging by the way the Pokémon was staring at him, he could tell that it was inwardly laughing at his failures.

He pulled himself up and sat cross-legged on the floor, both his gaze and the Pokémon's locking. Then he exhaled and hauled himself up using the banister to aid him. He walked towards the bed and laid upon it, its small features barely enough to keep his small-frame inside. Revolving his torso in order to face the Pokémon, he stared at it for a while, then watched as its wide smile began to fade slowly into the distance.

 **7 Years Later - Tek Naomhán**

Under the morning sun, a bike sped up as it made it's way down a hill paved in both snow and ice. Holding the bars was perhaps a boy of fourteen or fifteen, and he displayed both experience of riding alongside the snow and yet clumsiness at the same time.

Before him, the terrain began to ascend in a sloping fashion. Tek pushed down on the brakes, and instead of the bike coming to a complete standstill it skidded along the thin ice for a while before finally reeling to a stop. Behind him, another boy of the same age and stature followed, but it was evident just by staring at him he wasn't handling the change in terrain as well as Tek, and as he pushed on the brakes the bike flipped forth. Tek let out a chuckle at the sight of his grounded friend. The floored male stared up at him, eyes flicking about him nervously as a slight blush crept onto his face.

'How do you do this?' He asked, pulling himself back up to his knees and placing his bike perpendicular to the ground once more. As if to taunt him, Tek rode around him in circles, chiming the bell as he went.

'I grew up here, Lukas!' He yelled with joy. Lukas rolled his eyes and got onto his bike again, pushed down the pedals and began riding north. Tek rushed after him, finding it no challenge to catch up with him. 'Don't fall on your face again!'

'As if!' Lukas replied, quickening his speed to that of a hunted prey. Tek soon slipped behind, yet he felt no need to stay level with him. Instead, he gripped the back of Lukas' bike and rode along with him, hands away from the handlebars. Lukas turned around just to see Tek smiling at him, and then refaced the direction he was heading with a much less joyous tone. 'How much longer until Minstrel? I'm bored of this place. All of its snow - tsk! I'm glad it was you visiting me and not the other way around.'

'So you don't like the snow? That's a shame. And to answer your question. . . Urrm. . .'

'Urrm?'

As he said this, the snow subsided into that of a green landscape, scattered with trees and small tangles of undergrowth. The road before them lay bare though, and Tek let go of Lukas' bike to grab his own. Soon, he rode ahead.

'You're out of the snow now, you should know where we are.'

'Just a bit more until Minstrel?'

'Yup.'

The boy internally cheered, then regained his posture. 'Say, Tek. . . Have you caught your second Pokémon yet?'

'No, why do you ask?'

'It's just. . . Well, our goal is to enter the Arana league right? Then we're obviously going to need more Pokémon than just one, you know.'

'One Pokémon can dominate a thousand, you know. It all depends on how much love and trust you put into it.'

'Yet your one still hates you -'

'S-shut up!' He yelled, flushing a bit. Lukas shot him a wry smile, and soon Tek wasn't sure about where he stood anymore.

'So right now me and Pichu have more chance of beating you in a battle!' He said, giving a thumbs up as if to go alongside his speech. Tek screwed his face up.

'Prove it!' He retorted. Following the males outburst, the bike began to wobble, and Tek gripped onto the bike handles harder in an attempt to straighten himself.

'All right, once we get to Minstrel I'll show you what I've got!'

Lukas began to peddle harder, and soon he had shot ahead of Tek and was now whizzing past the foliage. Tek watched in helplessly, outstretched his hands as if to say 'watch the civilians!' then let it fall flat by his side again. His look of distress was then turned to that of determination, and he mimicked the male's movements and began to speed after him. Tree after tree flew past him, along with the bright green flick of vines that laid entangled with their branches. The asphalt road was flat, which meant the ride would be smooth. Tek's eyebrows pushed further down, and soon he could see the boys figure in the distance. Within a few moments, he had left him in the dust. He could even picture the boy's distraught look right now.

Buildings began to appear in the distance. Tek squeezed the brakes and skidded to a halt, his bike angled lowly as to stop himself from falling over with his momentum. Lukas came behind him and grinded to a stop, his expression indifferent.

Tek jumped off his bicycle and dashed forwards, arms outstretched as he spun in circles. 'Welcome to Minstrel!'

'So I suppose I have to battle you to prove to you that I am and will always be greater than you?' He jeered. Tek nodded in agreement, although rather dubiety. He grabbed a Pokéball from his belt and promptly dropped it onto the floor, a red light and a conical creature emerging from it. 'You open your Pokéballs weird. . . .'

'It's how I learned to do it!' He protested in a rather squeamish attempt to defend himself. Lukas just laughed before flicking him on the forehead.

'Watch and learn.' Lukas replied. He took a few steps back, grabbed a Pokéball from his pocket and threw it forward. 'Throw it, not drop it. You'll look like a weirdo if you don't do otherwise.'

'Well according to you everything I do makes me a weirdo. . . .' Mumbled Tek. Before him, a Pichu appeared, and soon it tilted its head and turned back towards Lukas. He nodded, and then the Pokémon seemed to catch on, turning back towards the battlefield with an expression of pure determination. Tek stared down at his Pokémon, Snorunt, who had quickly hidden away inside of its cone. He sweat dropped.

Perhaps Lukas was right. Perhaps he was greater than he was.

 **Blergh. Currently writing this at midnight. It isn't cool.**

 **All characters here are from the UWHF database, though I don't think that it important to any of you. Yes, this story takes place in the region of Arana, which is indeed a fan-made region. Though trust me, I have everything planned.**

 **I'll leave character submissions open for a while as I have until the end of July to finish Camp NaNoWriMo. Then I'm participating in something known as ViViDATiON, but I'll be able to do this story alongside it.**

 **I'll only be accepting about 6 OCs, for this is Pokémon and I do believe that is the most I can handle.**

 **Anywho, to those who are interested the form is on my profile!**

 **Night~**

 **I'll update you with a map of the region tomorrow, because right now I'm lazy.**


	2. Chapter 2

**SYOC SUBMISSIONS ARE STILL** **OPEN.**

 **May I just say that that was the lamest battle scene I have ever written in my life. Ever.**

 **My writing is incredibly rushed. I'm trying my hardest to make it bearable, but participating in Camp NaNoWriMo at the same makes it increasingly difficult. Oh well. This'll be my last update for July, seeing as how I have now gained a ranking and it has rekindled my interest in my current project FLY. Then I'll start updating.**

 **My profile's been updated with a rough region map if anyone's interested. There isn't any names of the towns, but shh... I'll do that later. :P**

 **8 OCs. . . Damn, I don't wanna decline people but it looks like I'll have to. And to all those who haven't got a reply from me yet. . . Just wait a while. c:**

The sky began to cloud over, and soon the boys grew impartial to the crowd that was beginning the form around them. Tek had grown increasingly hesitant of the Pokémon in front of him, for it had refused to move. Then again, he supposed he hadn't given it any orders. . . But it obeying him was another matter. Lukas had not yet said a word, but Pichu stood lunged on all fours, its cheeks sparking as it awaited its command.

'So do want to go first?' He asked, though in a tone that was almost patronising. Pichu raised its paw in agreement. Tek just stared.

'Are you mocking me?' He yelled, 'Snorunt, Powder Snow!'

The Pokémon stood stationary and made a shrugging motion with the little body it had. When Tek saw this, his face fell. Then, with a sudden realisation, he pumped his finger forward as if to point out something blatant.

'I guess we skip out on lunch then!' He said, a wry smile creeping onto his lips. Snorunt immediately tensed up. Within seconds, the Pokémon had jumped up, and from its body came many white particles. Cold and blunt; they failed to be sharp. All of them shot towards Pichu, but without even a command from its trainer it sidestepped. Then, they crashed besides it, breaking as they collided with the ground.

'How about we spice this up, Tek? The loser buys me lunch.' Lukas prodded. Tek barred his teeth and slipped his glasses up to the bridge of his nose, eyebrows angling downwards.

'And the point of that is?' He asked. 'Though I would hate to lose to you there is the possibility that it may be inevitable.'

'At least you finally admit that -'

'Use double team then ice shard!' Tek yelled, his body swaying with momentum. The Pokémon did so with no delay, mainly due to fear of losing its lunch.

Lukas stumbled backwards and Pichu's eyes snapped open with realisation. Around them spread duplicates in a circumvolved fashion, each with their gaze set intently on Pichu. Then, like wind in stormy weather, shards of ice lurched forward, coming for each and everyone one of them. A few of them struck Pichu and it tumbled backwards, hind legs placed forward as it tried to regain its balance.

'Maybe you should stop gloating and concentrate more on the matter at hand. . . I'm not a pushover all the time.'

'You bribed the poor guy with food, you slavedriver!' He protested. Looking at his grounded partner, he urged it to stand up. With adequate effort, it rose to its knees and waited for its next command, body bruised.

'Pichu, pay back time! Thundershock, let's go!' Lukas yelled, launching his hand forward with sheer determination. Pichu's body illuminated with a yellow hue, and one by one Snorunt's duplicates were struck down. Tek watched with his mouth agape as his Pokémon was struck and sent tumbling towards him, rolling and hitting his ankles. It stood up straight away, but tucked itself straight back into it's cone, hiding it's face from sight. Tek sighed and, deciding that it was no use continuing with a Pokémon who had other wishes, dropped the Pokéball atop of its head. He fell to the ground, grabbed his Pokéball then sat cross-legged, his body hunched.

'It doesn't like fighting, doesn't it? Maybe you should be a coordinator. I'll buy you the dress!' Lukas said. Tek hobbled to his feet once more, gripped the bag tighter over his shoulder and took a few paces from the battlefield. But, even though Lukas had expected a reply, none was heard. 'Oi -'

'So do you want lunch or not?' He asked, albeit rather sharply. Lukas stared at him sideways before shaking his head.

'You don't have to. It'd be a shame if you did.' He replied. Tek turned forwards and continued to walk, leaving Lukas to catch up with him. 'Look. . . If it doesn't like to battle then maybe you should catch a different Pokémon -'

'Well that's a rather crude outlook on life. If your mother died would you just replace her?' He said. Lukas opened his mouth to respond, then shut it again, unsure with what to reply with. 'When do we go to Naplese? I'm bored of Minstrel already.'

'We've been here for five minutes. I doubt you've seen all this town has to offer.' Something to the right caught his attention, and he turned to face it. 'Look. TV.'

'And? What's so special about a TV?'

'Is that. . .' He said, running up to it. Tek, although debating whether to stay back, chased after him. The boy looked as if he was in a trance, hand outstretched like the specimen i front of him was the last angel in heaven.

'And it is?'

'Sinh's league battle!'

That name rung a bell. . . Sinh the league challenger. . . Sinh of Naplese city. Ah yes, that guy. 'No way -'

'Yup!'

'Is Sinh really so famous that he requires 24 cameras to be on him at any one time?'

'Well he is the son of that famous architect that built half of Liandro, who is also the Naplese city gym leader! We'll be facing his father soon, and I expect that all of their tactics run in the family,' he pressed his nose against the window, 'so watch.'

'You expect?'

The battle unfolded in front of them as a beautiful clash of sorcery. Each Pokémon was completely synced with their trainer, their legs moving in rhythm with the beats of their commands. Dodges after dodges were made, attacks after attack. Pokémon withdrew, Pokémon released. . . Yet one side was winning by a landslide, though their strength as a duo diminished.

'That's Sinh's first Pokémon. His only one, too.'

'You're joking -'

'Nope! Every battle he competes in he only ever uses one. I've seen him battle with my own eyes before. . . I can assure you.'

Tek looked at Lukas, his expression unchanging. Behind this façade it was possible to see a hint of ambition, but yet it was covered with narrowed lips and bland eyes. 'I want to be like him.'

'Oooh, I see you've found your resolve in life. . . . It's a weird one, to say the least.' Lukas said, remaining focused on the TV in front of him, 'but then again you are weird. Careful, though. The trust Rhydon has in Sinh is through the roof. You and Snorunt on the other hand -'

'Snorunt trusts me, it's just that it doesn't like battling. We can work past that -'

'If it doesn't like battling you can't force it to -'

'We'll work past that.' He replied, this time his voice bitter. Lukas took a step back and, for one moment, he lifted his eyes from the TV and allowed them to drift elsewhere.

A flash of neon lights seized the boy's attentions attention back to the tv. Soon they were pushed up against it, hands in front of them, and watching with a piqued curiosity. Upon the battlefield stretched a plume of dust, about 5 meters in diameter, and beneath it it was possible to see two figures. The dust rose quickly, most of it cascading down the earth, the rest blown to places beyond the human eye. Then, it was possible to see two figures. . . One grounded, one stood proud.

The TV was mute but, even though the subtitles were small, it was possible to make out what was being said. Lukas' arms flopped to his side. 'So he lost?'

'Well he's only human.' Tek stated. As the two had stood there, the wind had blown Tek's hair into his face and he quickly scraped it away, although the wind protested otherwise. This led him to think for a moment.

 _Can that much loyalty really be achieved? Is it possible?_

He turned to Lukas. 'Say, what do those two do together to build up that much of a bond?'

Lukas shrugged. 'Who knows. I'm not a stalker.'

Tek opened his mouth, but failed to come up with a witty response. Instead, he asked: 'are we in Naplese yet? Minstrel is boring.'

'Oh come on!' Said Lukas, grabbing his arm sternly and pulling him away from the TV, 'you haven't see half of it yet! Stop complaining! Let's go to the center, okay? I head - no, see - that they're doing stuff over there!'

'But Naplese -'

'Come on!'

Soon, the two had delved through the depths of many crowds, Lukas without a care about how they viewed them. Tek wallowed behind with reluctance, and soon the two stood near a fountain. Around them stretched tall, overbearing buildings that cast shadows with their heightened structure. Tek wouldn't complain, for it provided shade from the onlooking sun. The complete reversal in temperature reminded him of Frostline though.

Lukas perched on the edge of the fountain, taking in the views around them with wide eyes. 'There's a lot here. Anything cool?'

Tek took a moment to look around. The place was indeed busy. Stalls were lined up in every direction, each and everyone differing from the one next to them. Some achieved more publicity while others remained bare, no matter how hard the salespeople behind them tried for their attention. They all looked interesting, and Tek had to admit that he was beginning to feel rather hungry.

'Go for a food stall.' He said. Lukas jumped back onto his feet, then walked a little before stopping.

'Which one.'

'Any.'

'God you're so indecisive!' He said. The two began to walk once again, this time rather quickly, although the distance they had to cover couldn't have been more than a few meters. Tek looked up and, expecting nothing less from the boy, sighed in defeat.

'This isn't food, Lukas.'

'Ice cream is totally food! And plus, it's not like you decided anyway.' He said. He pushed a hand deep into his pockets, then slapped his face. 'You got any spare cash?'

Tek pulled the bag off his shoulders, eyes fixed to the boy with an expression that showed boredom twisted with a slight hatred. He threw him it, and the boy reached out to catch it. When he pulled on the zipper, it appeared to get stuck and, with pain and exhaustion (and no help from Tek), he was finally able to get it undone. Sighing, he reached into it, then threw it back once he pulled an object from it.

'Go sit. I'll be back soon. . . I hope.'

Tek agreed, for he had no reason to tire himself anymore by standing. He walked back over towards the fountain and laid against it, eyes directed to the sky above him. Across the blue map scudded small clouds, yet no bigger. Next to him he could hear the constant churn of water which, if the center wasn't so busy, he would have found relaxing. However, its noise was drowned out by the chatter of those around him which, to Tek, was a much less appealing sound.

He turned his head the the side. Around him were people - loads - gathered in small groups and dotted throughout the area. Around them stood Pokémon. Now that he realised it, there were also Pokémon helping at the stalls. Fire Pokémon lit the stoves, water Pokémon helped the cleaning. . . It seemed like a joyous community, although Tek himself knew that these people were disconnected from each other, for everyone stayed within their individual friend groups.

Up front, an arrangement of instruments had been made, yet there were no people to accompany them. Perhaps they were for later. He turned his attention back to the ice cream stall. Lukas was almost getting served, which he supposed was a miracle in itself. Though admittedly he had taken to the place where he laid, and standing up again wasn't something that he felt like doing.

 **What am I doing with this story. . . Oh and hey Sinh!**


End file.
